1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a sewing apparatus that a sewing cartridge can be attached thereto or detached therefrom and a storage medium for the sewing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a sewing apparatus, such as a sewing machine, sews a work cloth using upper and lower threads in cooperation with a thread take-up, a thread loop taker and a needle. The needle is threaded with the upper thread and moves vertically. A regular home sewing machine sews using a single needle attached to a lower end of a needle rod. When the upper thread wound around a spool runs out, or the upper thread needs to be changed to sew a different color of a color pattern, the upper thread, after the spool for the upper thread is changed, is threaded to a predetermined guide portion provided for the sewing machine, then the upper thread needs to be threaded through a needle hole.
A conventional sewing apparatus and sewing cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the sewing apparatus, includes the sewing cartridge accommodating a needle and a spool therein. However, it is not necessary to thread an upper thread through a needle hole when an upper thread wound around a spool runs out, or the upper thread needs to be changed to sew a color pattern. The omission of threading the upper thread through a needle hole is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 4,100,867, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The needle attached to a sewing cartridge is similar to a regular sewing needle wherein a thread is threaded through a needle hole at its lower end. When a sewing cartridge is attached to a sewing apparatus, the needle and the needle up and down mechanism provided to the sewing apparatus are connected to each other so as to move integrally. When a machine motor is running, the needle is moved up and down by the needle up and down driving mechanism with respect to the sewing cartridge fixed to the main body of the sewing machine. Thus, when the operation of a needle passing through a work cloth is repeated, sewing is performed on a work cloth using an upper thread and a looper member.
When the sewing operation is completed, the sewing cartridge and the embroidery frame need to be removed from the sewing apparatus. In this case, the embroidery frame is located, in advance, in a predetermined position provided at the back of the sewing apparatus, so that the thread extending from the sewing cartridge is easily cut by the thread cutting mechanism. However, it is difficult to detach the embroidery frame from the sewing apparatus as it is, so that it is necessary to forcefully move the embroidery frame to the outside of the sewing apparatus.
When the sewing cartridge is replaced with another sewing cartridge, accommodating a different color thread while performing the sewing operation, the thread extending the sewing cartridge needs to be cut by the thread cutting mechanism before the sewing cartridge is detached from the sewing apparatus. However, it is unnecessary to remove the embroidery frame.
In the conventional sewing apparatus, the disengagement of the sewing cartridge from the oscillating arm and the thread cutting operation is performed by a single operating member. There may be a case where the sewing apparatus performs an undesired operation by mistakenly determining that the sewing operation is completed. When this occurs the embroidery frame is forcefully moved to the outside of the sewing apparatus in accordance with the determination as to whether the thread cutting operation is performed. Thus, the instructions to detach the embroidery frame is issued using a separately provided switch.
If a user accidentally operates the operating member during the sewing operation, the sewing cartridge is rotated in a direction to remove the sewing cartridge from the oscillating arm, so that the posture of the sewing cartridge is changed. This results in causing sewing failure and damage to the sewing needle and the like.
This invention provides a sewing apparatus wherein a holding frame, having a workpiece, detachably attached to a sewing apparatus body is easily removed from the sewing apparatus body. According to this invention control can be achieved such that the holding frame can be surely detached from the sewing apparatus body after a sewing cartridge is detached from the sewing apparatus body and a thread cutting operation is completed. This invention also provides a storage medium for the sewing apparatus.
According to one aspect of the invention, a sewing apparatus includes a needle that moves up and down, a sewing cartridge designed to be able to accommodate a spool therein, a holding frame to which a workpiece is attached, a frame moving member that moves the holding frame, a sewing operation member that performs sewing operation on the workpiece while moving the holding frame in orthogonal directions. A detecting device is also provided that performs at least one of a detection of the presence or absence of the sewing cartridge and a detection of a mounting state of the sewing cartridge, and a sewing control device that moves the holding frame to a detachable position by moving the frame moving device in accordance with a detection signal from the detecting device.
Accordingly, the presence or absence of the sewing cartridge in the sewing apparatus and the posture of the sewing cartridge can be detected. As a result of the detection, if the condition of the sewing apparatus is inappropriate for the sewing operation, the holding frame is controlled so as not to be moved to the detachable position. By doing so, the holding frame is not moved due to accidental operation by the user. Thus, damage to the sewing apparatus and parts of the sewing cartridge can be prevented.
When the sewing cartridge is in the posture where the sewing operation can be stopped, the holding frame is controlled to be moved to the detachable position. With this control, the replacement or detachment of the holding frame can be easily performed.